Adjustment Quote by Learned Hand
“It is often hard to secure unanimity about the borders of legislative power, but that is much easier than to decide how far a particular adjustment diverges from what the judges deem tolerable. On such issues experience has over and over again shown the difficulty of securing unanimity. This is disastrous because disunity cancels the impact of monolithic solidarity on which the authority of a bench of judges so largely depends.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Judicial Conference, 1932
Unanimity is hard; yet discord undermines judicial authority and collective power.
In simple terms: Disagreement weakens the bench’s influence.
Key Takeaway
Seek consensus, protect authority.
Themes
law
judiciary
unity
Mood
analytical
serious
Type
legal
philosophical
When to use this quote
- court rulings
- legislative debates
- policy formation
Key Concepts
constitutional law
judicial power
legislative limits
Questions to Reflect On
- How can judges balance unity with critical independence?
- When is dissent beneficial?
A Different Perspective
Consensus may suppress necessary dissent.
![“Musalia [Mudavadi] has a much weaker character in person than [Musikari] Kombo, and you know the joke about humble Luhya servants as cooks and watchmen...Anyway, jokes aside, Luhya disunity is a blessing for us and I would never have wanted it any other way.” quote by Raila Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/89d/raila-odinga-22479_blessing_musalia-mudavadi-has-a-much-weaker-chara_98416.jpg)
